I thought I would share bits and pieces of my life. I am a lifelong Christian. I have been married for over 37 years to Stan. No children. We have 2 Miniature Pinschers named MoneyPenny and Spunky Monkey and 3 Italian Greyhounds named Persephone, Dresden and Capodimonte. We have 9 nieces/nephews and 7 grandnieces/nephews whom we love. My hobbies are genealogy, reading, digital scrapbooking, history, dogs, homemaking.

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Tuesday, August 13, 2013

A New Use For Old Things

It was time for a Google search to get some new ideas on thrifty decor. By thrifty decorating I mean taking trash to treasure, junk to gems, reuse, rcycle, upcycling old things. I love seeing everyone's ideas on new uses for old things. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't create something new. These people have proved that you can just by thinking outside the box. I appreciate all who share their ideas on the Internet to inspire the rest of us. All I did was a Google image search. You can too!

I tried to pick projects that were simple to complicated, one item to whole rooms, no money spent to some money spent, tacky to formal and sophisticated. So you choose what you like best and go for it!

I loved this kitchen stove hood... a galvanized trough!

These are old vent covers.

Using some pretty frames someone added costume jewelry to them to make them extra dazzling!

Anyone ever seen the old 1970's wooden consoles? Those big, chunky, dark, heavy pieces can be turned into modern, light pieces with a little paint!

I love what they did to these chairs!

Find some pour stoppers and add to some old soda pop bottles and you have soap, oil, vinegar, honey bottles!

Old mattress springs as wine storage.

Antiqued , painted, decoupaged antique chest of drawers.

Before you throwing away old lamps, think about painting them and adding a new lampshade. You can decorate lampshades with stamps, wallpaper, beaded fringe, fabric flowers, painted scenes, etc.

Buttons glued on bobby pins.

This old chair went glamorous with some black gloss paint and chic new upholstery.

Yes, this is a coffee can! I believe it's wrapped in a wallpaper border with ric rac glued on the lid. How cute is that!?!

Use some old bottles and add old buttons or vintage clip earrings to the corks on top. Then wrap with an old necklace. I also like how they used the bottles as picture frames by just rolling the photo up and plopping it inside the bottle.

Anybody recognize this cheap old lamp from the 1980's? Somebody had a great idea by painting it silver to look like mercury glass. Then added a new gray lampshade and brushed nickle finial on top.

Using coffee burlap sacks was ingenious for these kitchen chairs.

I really liked this storage idea. I think it's an old pickle jar? Anyway, if you are a baker, here is a way to store all those cookie cutters you may have.

I have had file cabinets professionally painted for a very reasonable price. But if you are good at it, do it yourself! The lateral file cabinet has even been put on a base to raise it off the floor. Then painted matte silver and gold. It really makes it look sophisticated. The other file cabinet was painted a sky blue with a wooden cutting board placed on top. Great place to keep those kitchen recipe files.

This piece had beautiful lines. It looks beautiful in all white.

Another one of those old console jobs that I bet was pretty ugly before someone started painting. Didn't they do a beautiful job? I have a neighbor who can paint things like this and she has done a beautiful job on some pieces.

I have an old antiqued brass lamp just like this one. I like the end result of painting it and adding a modern drum shade.

Another one of those heavy, clunky, 1970's china cabinets. I always thought they just looked downright medieval. But someone saw the pretty lines on this one and did a wonderful job refurbishing it. I love the wallpaper on the backboard, the new hardware and the paint job lightens it up and makes it the star of the room.

This is another 1970's piece that was sort of Spanish medieval. Painting it this pleasing pale yellow and aging it was a great idea. And pairing it with gray! Wow! Using the old frame to frame a map and painting the lamp base and adding the new shade made this pop!

What a great idea for a music room!

Turning this bookcase into a shabby chic cabinet to show off your treasures is a great idea. Notice they used different wallpapers for the back of each shelf.

Another one of the old pieces that has beautiful line to it but just needs modernizing. I love the two tone paint job and how the drawer handles were painted and put back on. Beautiful job.

Ever thought of using a picture frame as a tray? Good idea isn't it?

I got excited seeing this. I assume those are pennies on a burlap backing in an old antique frame that's been painted matte gold. How about a penny for each year of a person's life or for each year of a couple's marriage? Just keep adding a penny each year with the correct year on it.